Book: How To Avoid A Climate Disaster

I didn't order Bill Gates' new book when it came out in February, because I tend to think it's too late and we're all screwed anyway. Then the late June heatwave hit, and it became more personal for me.

Bill's ever the optimist, and although difficult, he thinks reversing global warming might JUST be within our grasp. We'll see if he convinces me.

He's realistic about his place in the debate:

Bill Gates wrote:

I am aware that I'm an imperfect messenger on climate change. The world is not exactly lacking in rich men with big ideas about what other people should do, or who think technology can fix any problem. And I own big houses and fly in private planes. So who am I to lecture anyone on the environment?

I plead guilty to all three charges.

I can't deny being a rich guy with an opinion. I do believe, though, that it is an informed opinion and I'm also a technophile. Show me a problem, and I'll look for technology to fix it.

Wow. The first half of the book is a pretty grim litany of the difficulties in getting to zero carbon emissions, and what'll happen if we don't. Bill says the second half will present solutions, but my god it sounds hopeless.

The most-liked review on Amazon is by a climate denialist, posted the day after the book was released.  What are the chances he read it?

Quote :

J. A May
Reviewed in the United States on February 17, 2021
1.0 out of 5 stars
Bill Gates has not studied climate science

Bill Gates is obviously a bright person, he built Microsoft and was a great innovator. But this book is disappointing. Gates has clearly not studied climate science, he just assumes the IPCC reports and models are correct. Then he accepts their health and economic projections, built with climate model output. He does no due diligence. If he ran his business like this, he would not have succeeded.

So after blindly accepting, the consensus position on climate science he then proceeds to tell us what we must do to combat his hypothesized scourge of climate change. Later he implores the governments of the world to unite in forcing us to do what he wants.

In my opinion, this is a very shallow look at a complex topic. It is more of a propaganda pamphlet than a serious book. Bill Gates should do his homework for his next book. Not recommended.

949 people found this helpful

Climate denialism -- like COVID denialism -- just gobsmacks me. How is it even possible?

Addressing climate change is nearly impossible.

Any solution, short of massive die-offs or a return to stone-age technology -- or both -- will involve some pretty high tech, like GMO crops, non-petroleum power generation, non-petroleum vehicles, new ways of making cement and steel, new ways of making fertilizer, new ways of raising food animals.

All of these require investment and an economy able to make the investment.

Which means raising the living standard of billions of people.

Which means increasing their carbon output while they develop.

Which means making climate warming that much worse, and fixing it that much harder.

In short, a massive die-off might be our best option. Bill mentions, dismissively and in passing, some methods of "geo-engineering" which would alter the environment without having to change our behavior or altering our carbon footprint: putting huge amounts of nano-particles in the atmosphere to block 1% of sunlight, essentially mimicking the global smoke particles that killed off the dinosaurs.  Also what happened in the past couple of ice ages which were caused by volcanism on a broad scale.  Or seeding clouds with salt particles to make them more reflective (what could go wrong there, I wonder?). I've heard about proposals for orbiting solar shields, to block sunlight (and maybe even generate power). But all such proposals are likely to result in unintended side effects, and could make things exponentially worse instead of better.

I'm glad I'm old. We're all wholly fucked.

When 9/11 happened something broke inside of me.  I never thought people were capable of such unmitigated evil.

Now, after four years of trump, it's evident there are many many people capable of letting humanity (and most other species) go extinct, if it serves their own short-term gain.

End Times, you know.  Jebus will take them all to heaben.


And some of 'em are in government.